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The Ten Rules of Independent Filmmaking -
courtesy AmazeFilms
1. MAKE SURE YOUR SCRIPT IS ROCK SOLID
The first thing that most established producers will ask you is, "What's the point of your story, and why is it worth telling?"
When a group of filmmakers spend months shooting a feature or film, they often become shortsighted about how the rest of the world perceives and understands their film. To put it plain and simply, make sure that your story is CLEAR and OBVIOUS - especially the ending.
Whether the film is an eclectic experimental or a poignant drama, make sure that those who read the screenplay - and eventually watch the film - understand the journey on which you are taking them.
A great way to learn about screenwriting is TO READ: Novels, short stories, short film screenplays, feature film screenplays... Reading the work of other authors enriches a storyteller by allowing them to see how other authors have effectively (or ineffectively) told stories.
The general rule with screenplays is DON'T START SHOOTING UNLESS YOUR SCRIPT IS READY. Often times writers will go through draft after draft and eventually settle for a mediocre product in the interest of time. Don't make this mistake. Remember, it's better to wait to shoot a great film than to shoot a not-so-good one right now. Just don't wait forever!
IN SHORT: Story is king.
2. WORK WITH THE BEST POSSIBLE TALENT
Actors, crew members, performing artists - whomever you end up hiring to work in your production, MAKE SURE THEY ARE THE BEST CANDIDATES FOR THE JOB.
Actors
Along with a poor screenplay, the most common weakness of films is BAD ACTING. This does not mean, however, that you need to hire professional actors with years of experience and training. Quite often non-actors perform the best because they're not trying to act.
Whomever you decided to cast in your film, make sure that they can portray your characters interestingly and accurately. Another way to improve their performance is to WORKSHOP them for weeks before you start shooting.
Bad actors can make or break your film. Irrespective of whether you have the most talented crew members, a massive budget, the best equipment or a great screenplay, if your actors do not perform well it will be difficult to attract audiences.
Crew Members
Although you might be limited to working with those crew members who won't charge you anything, WORK WITH THE BEST PEOPLE FOR THE JOB.
If a cinematographer, music composer or production designer has a particular style that would work perfectly in your film, IT DOESN'T HURT TO ASK them to help out.
Up-and-coming filmmakers are always looking for a good project that they can be attached to. Put a package together for your film including such items as an information kit, promo reels, story boards, etc. and pitch your project around. You might be surprised who falls in love with your project.
IN SHORT: Film is about collaboration. Find the best artists for the jobs and don't be afraid to delegate responsibilities.
3. ESTABLISH YOUR BUDGET & STICK TO IT
Anyone who tells you that filmmaking today is expensive is downright lying. Okay, maybe it can cost a few bucks, but with the advent of digital filmmaking and home editing, making a film can be very inexpensive.
Even before the digital filmmaking craze struck, filmmakers were able to shoot critically acclaimed low budget films for a fraction of what others could produce them for. Robert Rodriguez's "El Mariachi" and Kevin Smith's "Clerks" cost $7,225 and $22,769, respectively, and they were FEATURE FILMS SHOT ON FILM. And then of course they was the "Blair Witch Project" which was shot on Hi-8 and 16mm which was shot for less than $30,000 and grossed over $170 million worldwide.
Whether your budget is $10 $1,000, $10,000, $100,000 or $1,000,000, STICK TO IT. It's proven every year that talented filmmakers can make highly acclaimed films within any financial constraints.
The general rule for making a film as cheap as possible is to ASK PEOPLE FOR HELP. Everyone wants to be associated with the next "Blair Witch Project," and quite frankly you might be the person to do it. As with any fundraising, YOU MUST FIRST ASK before anyone gives you a dime, so don't be shy. There are hundreds of organizations and individuals who would consider supporting your production.
To find grants or high-net work individuals, conduct a web search for "grants", "high net worth individuals" or "humanitarians". You can also view the film Grants list on this site. Remember, you lose nothing by asking.
IN SHORT: In this day and age a film can be made for any amount of money. Whatever that amount might be for you, find ways to make your film with it, even if it requires swallowing your pride.4. AVOID THE MOST COMMON MISTAKES
Bad sound, weak screenplay, bad acting, visible mistakes in footage, bad budgeting… If you take every point from this article and flip it to the negative, it's probably a good list of the most common mistakes that filmmakers make. Avoid them whenever possible.
As many of your mentors will tell you, the best way to learn what to avoid is to make the mistake yourself. We're not saying to start making all possible mistakes in your film, but rather to learn from those that you, your friends or other filmmakers have made.
IN SHORT: If there's a mistake to be made, it's already been made. Do your prep work. Plan and collaborate early on to avoid making mistakes in the future.
5. GET YOUR CLEARANCES DONE - EARLY
Generally speaking a film that is not cleared is NOT DISTRIBUTABLE. This means that if your film infringes on the rights of others, you will not be able to screen it at film festivals or commercially distribute it - this applies to both feature films and short films.
The best way to make sure that everything is cleared is to DO THE LEG WORK EARLY. Quite often filmmakers pursue a production and 4 months into the project they're told that someone else owns the copyright of their film title or even the story concept. There's nothing worse than to be told that you will not be able to finish your film because of something like this.
The most common uncleared material in a film is the MUSIC. Filmmakers often fall in love with a particular commercial song and simply through it into their final mix thinking there won't be any repercussions. Clearing such music at a later date can be very costly or even impossible. The best thing to do with music is to purchase stock music, use royalty-free music or to hire a composer to write original music.
You can find such items on the web if you search for "royalty free music,""music clips" or "sound clips."
One thing that many filmmakers don't know is that any music that was written over 99 years ago is royalty-free as long as you can get the musicians who played it to give you permission to use their version of the song.
There are several other items that must be cleared in a film production. Please visit Clearance Guidelines for more information.
IN SHORT: Make your film as if one day you plan to sell it. You never know who's going to come knocking on your door with a checkbook. The last thing you'd want is to have copyright infringement break a potential distribution deal.
6. PUT A PACKAGE TOGETHER AND PITCH IT TO ANYONE WHO CAN HELP
Whether you have a short screenplay that you want to shoot or a short film with a feature length screenplay, the best thing you can do to market yourself is to make a package and get it to anyone that can help.
Everyone on this planet is separated by only six hand shakes from every other person. Therefore, the chances are good that you know several people who can get your material to those who possess the power to give your career a jump start.
A verbal pitch is important for an artist to have - especially an elevator pitch (a verbal pitch lasting from 30 seconds to a few minutes). However, there's no better follow up or stand-alone sales tool as an informational package.
Another great way to showcase your projects is to create a web site. There are several sites on the Internet that offer free web sites and web tools that alloy anyone to configure a web site.
To find such sites, conduct a web search for "free web hosting" or "free web pages." See "Get Your Video or Movie Seen"
IN SHORT: Make a web site, buy a color printer, get some business folders and put your visions on something that you can show other people, not just tell them.
7. SHOOT FOR THE SKY
The beautiful thing about winning acclaim is that there is no set rule for it. Quite often the most unique - and even obscure feature films and short films - are the ones that take home the most trophies.
Point of the story is - AIM HIGH: you never know where or who will love your film.
IN SHORT: Even though your film might only cost $10 make, you never know what ground it will break or award it will win.
8. SHOW GRATITUDE
Copy, credits, great meals… Gratitude is a concept that too often gets breached. Crew members often end up receiving cold left-over pizza and never see their names in the end credits, let alone get a copy of the film.
If there is one expense that is always worth it, IT'S TO FEED PEOPLE WELL. Aside from the physiological repercussions of feeding people unhealthy food, it's a great way to show your appreciation for their efforts.
Regarding credits, it's always a nice feeling to see one's name in the end credits of a film, even if they donated only a few bucks for film stock or food. Don't hold back when it comes to including names of those who helped you in the end credits. You might be surprised how prone they will be to help you again if you show your appreciation to them the first time.
IN SHORT: Be thankful and show it.
9. GET FEEDBACK
As mentioned earlier, it is very easy to get shortsighted about the story that you are trying to tell - and in the process forget about your audience.
A great way to avoid this is to constantly get feedback about your project. Whether for your outline, screenplay, directing style, casting, post production, rough-cut or final product, previous short film FEEDBACK IS CRUCIAL. Friends, teachers, mentors, and industry veterans pride on providing advice and often it can be integral.
IN SHORT: Filmmaking shouldn't be done in a bubble. Feedback from experts and novices alike might be the most beneficial thing that you get.
10. EXPOSURE
Art is about expression, but it is also about communication. The final challenge of a filmmaker is to get people to go see their films. For up-and-coming filmmakers their film often serves as a resume to gain future work.
Between film festivals, industry screenings, and broadcast, there are several ways to get independent short films and feature films exposure.
Some filmmakers set aside a budget of a few thousand dollars just so they can submit their film to festivals. Though this is not crucial, it can be a great way to showcase your work to film fans and industry professionals around the world.
Remember KEEP YOUR GOALS IN MIND. Whether you want to be a screenwriter, film director, production designer or work in any other aspect of filmmaking, you must constantly strive to achieve your goals and use your previous work to showcase your talent.
IN SHORT: Your work represents your talent. Get it out to as many people as possible and always keep your goals in mind.More great Indie Filmmaking resources from AmazeFilms - AmazeFilms is the producer of the highly-acclaimed "Short Series," featuring cult favorites, Sundance/Cannes selections & Academy Award-winners on 8 short film compilation DVDs. View trailers, bios and purchase info online. Have a FILM FESTIVAL in your LIVING ROOM.
How to avoid this very common scenario....
ACTORS - When you audition, ask about the plan and distribution. If they can't afford to pay you, but plan on sending to several film festivals.... then something is wrong. Do the math. Each film festival costs $25-50 whether the movie makes it in or not, and because of simple odds (thousands of submissions, tens of slots....) the movie won't get into a lot of film festivals. If the filmmakers can't afford to pay for decent meals, how in the hell can they afford to submit to film festivals?
Now I'm not saying you shouldn't do the movie. That's not my point at all. I guess my point is just BE REALISTIC. Know that you are doing it for the experience. Occasionally, there are pearls in the clams, and you won't find them if you don't look. There are some good movies and good directors, but it may take time and a few movies before this first time filmmaker becomes one.
There are other options that can make the experience and work worthwhile. Don't be afraid to suggest:
DIRECTORS - Plan for the entire movie. Budget for the entire movie. That includes money to MARKET the movie. There is this common mistake that you spend all of your money MAKING the movie, and then it sits & collects dust because you find out that everything costs more than you thought. Plan for it. Whatever you THINK it will cost, have double the money. Did you really think that because you shot your "film" on Digital Video that it would be that much cheaper? That's insane.
Be Realistic. The chances of getting INTO Sundance are slim, and winning anything or getting distribution is a pipe dream. First of all, DV shorts with no stars are generally as valuable as rat feces. There is no real distribution and short films, even with stars, have very few outlets for display - and even more rare are places that pay for them.
Film Festivals are great, but they are expensive. Plan ahead for the money you will spend on submitting to film festivals, and know that you may not get in. They don't refund your money when you don't get in. And also as an FYI - audiences at a regular film festival average about 12-75 people, most of them the other filmmakers and casts and crews who got their movie accepted. Unless your movie is about filmmaking, this may not be the best audience or judge for your work.
Make movies for the experience to start. Don't be delusional. Want to help yourself, your movies, and the actors who starred in it? Get some exposure. Get your work seen by as many people as possible. Put your shorts on the Internet, Public Access TV, or anywhere you can. Get your actors seen by as many people as possible. That's the least you can do.
You have to ask yourself why you made the movie or got involved with a movie.
Was it to get famous or make money? HA! You're better off buying lottery tickets. You'll have better odds in a casino.
Did you make your movie to tell a story? GREAT, now share it with people, in as many venues as possible. Film Festivals are good, but expensive. Have options.
CONTRACTS & LOW BUDGET MOVIEMAKING
by Peter John Ross (www.sonnyboo.com)
Have you ever heard of success stories like Kevin Smith making “Clerks”, Edward Burns directing “The Brother McMullen”, or Spike Lee doing "She's Gotta Have It”?If they forgotten to cross a "T" or dot an "I" we might not have ever heard of them. Contracts are important. It may not be as sexy as making movies, but if you ant to be a success in the film and video business, you need to pay attention to the business aspect of the biz. That means contracts. Even if you are doing a low budget or no budget flick, you got to have the legal stuff together.
It would have been very easy for an actor or even an owner of a convenience store to screw over the makers of the above mentioned movies if the filmmakers had not first gotten signed contracts. If you do not have a signed release form for the actor or a signed location agreement with the property owner, they might become the owner of your film, or at the least, can ruin any chance you have of publicly playing your movie. By getting certain blanket legalities in order, you can maintain control and ownership of your movie. A lot of indie filmmakers forget the "business" half of the movie business. Contracts are a very serious aspect of making movies. All to often it's enticing to go out & shoot your movie with a camcorder & then put it out there.
Even posting your movie on your own personal website is considered a "public performance". If you don't have written permission to use the "likeness" or “performance” of your actors they can change their minds and legally there is no recourse.
Release Forms and SAG Contracts
Even if you do a non-union DV short with your friends, GET THEM TO SIGN RELEASE FORMS! This allows you to distribute & screen it at film festivals. And if you are lucky, to get the movie broadcast on TV or distributed. You never know if an actor might become famous ten years from now. If you don’t have a signed release form, you can’t sell your movie with them in it.
Interestingly enough, there were some producers in Texas who worked with an up & coming local actress. They used the "SAG Experimental" contract which many indie producers consider as a “safety net”. However, the one problem is that includes a loophole for people who become SAG. If you do a SAG Experimental contract, and IF you land a video distribution deal, any SAG actors have the right to VETO the sale. This young actress made it big in movies like Jerry Maguire. Suddenly these really bad movies made 7-8 years prior became valuable but the producers couldn't sell them because she was able to exercise this little loophole.
Locations
Locations work a little different. Each state, and even individual cities and counties all different laws and complications. To shoot on private property requires signed location agreements, pretty much without fail. I know in Ohio you do not need any permits to shoot on public property, but then again, certain cities and towns have made their own laws concerning that, so it's not 100% statewide.
In California you almost ALWAYS need a permit to shoot anywhere. Building exteriors work a bit differently. Usually a building that is publicly large & unable to be obscured is fair game, but if there is a trademarked LOGO of a company visible, you enter into a different arena of legalities. Trademarks are similar to copyright laws, but these very much protect the image and the company much more so, and lean heavily towards the corporations.
Suppose you shoot at your friend's parent’s house, but you don't get written permission. Later, if their parents then felt the use of their house in the finished movie portrays their neighborhood poorly, they can stop your movie from being released. They can't say much if you can present a signed location agreement where they gave you legal permission to use their place in your movie.
Contracts Among Buddies
On the flip side of things, when working with friends, read carefully the contracts among yourselves. I have personally been screwed over by people that, at the time, I would never have believed things would fall apart. I have lost all rights to two movies that I wrote, directed, produced, and edited.
Similarly, I know a guy who had an idea for a movie, went to his "friend", and asked for help to make into a movie, and is now being legally entangled over who owns the character from the movie. In this case, the guy did NOT get contracts signed before hand, and never knew that his buddy was going to screw him over until he presented the contracts AFTER the movies got some play at film fests and had some early buzz. Now he can't do any screenings without getting letters to his attorney about "alleged monies lost" for their client. Things happen – even among the best of friends. Protect yourself – protect your friendships.
That way, if your movie gets selected to play on TV in Canada on "Moviola - channel for shorts" or the SKY NETWORK's "Short Film Channel" in the UK or the Sundance Channel or IFC, they will be able to play your movie.
Everyone benefits.
Big budget movies can get "Errors and Omissions" insurance that deal with this kind of thing, but on the low end of the financial scale, simple contracts for Locations & Actors can be found for free online. Use them. Always.
Cover your butt and get it all in writing. That way IF your movie gets successful, you can grab hold and enjoy the ride. You don’t want to possibly become one of the “almost got famous, but I forgot to get the contracts”.
- PJR
Location, Location, Location: Scouting Tips
by Scott Spears
Just like in real estate, when you leave the studio (if you were ever in one) one of the biggest factors to a good shoot, is location, location, location. I’ve been on many a location scout and have seen some great location and so not so great locations. One of the biggest things when seeing what looks like a great location is you have to think will it work logistically. The factors to locations are cost, sound issues, power and logistics. We’ll break those down in a minute.
First, who should be on the location scout? As many crew people as possible, but it’s not feasible to take the entire crew to each location (unless you have a small crew), so you need to pick department heads, the director, cinematographer, 1st assistant director, art director, sound mixer and production/location manager. I like to bring my gaffer if possible. These people all look at locations in different ways and will have different and valuable input. When all these people aren’t there, then somebody on the scout should be looking out for them. Sometimes when it’s just me and the director out scouting, we both have to wear different production hats and not just consider picture needs.
COST
This is the easy one, either can afford the location or you can’t. A good producer might be able to wheel and deal a better price. Sometimes you have to use some imagination with a place that doesn’t quite work, but is affordable. This is where the director has to envision the shots he will need. There’s a famous story from Akira Kurosawa when he was asked how he achieved a “perfect” frame for a period film he directed and he said, if I had panned to the right there was a modern factory and if I panned to the left, there were power lines, so the frame was set. I’ve been on scouts where people have said the location wouldn’t work because of some factor, but after talking with the director, we realized that element would never be on camera.
SOUND ISSUES
Here’s a line I like to use on sound mixers (please sound folks, don’t take a offense, I’m joking), “they’re called motion pictures, not motion sounds.” It usually gets the riled up, but seriously, you have to not just look at a location, you have to listen to it. Is it on a street with heavy traffic? Is there construction nearby or the potential of it? Is it in the path of an airport? Do a bunch of college party kids live next door who will throw the world’s biggest, noisy-est party ever in the middle of your intimate drama? If it’s a multi-story building, who lives upstairs? Somebody who stomps around in combat boots? There are hundreds of noise factors that can slow or grind your production to a halt, so be on the lookout.
If you start to like a location and think it will be high on your list, take a moment and stand silently. Listen for hums and buzzes. Find out if they can be eliminated. You should visit it again at a different time of day to make sure there isn’t some factor that changes. Say you visit an apartment that looks perfect in the morning, but it sits above a bar that at night cranks up the music, well that would be a sound killer. Some smaller airports cut back on night flights, but during the day your location will have a flight overhead every two minute. In general, try to think when you’ll be shooting and seek out any sound factor which would slow or halt shooting. Sometimes these things can come out of nowhere and cannot be predicted, but you should do your homework.
(Here’s a side note: Refrigerators are the bane of sound mixer’s life, humming back to life in the middle of takes thus ruining the sound, so the solution is to turn them off during the shoot, but often times they don’t get turned back on after the shoot and the production gets a bill to replace the spoiled contents. Here’s a clever way to avoid that: somebody is assigned be the last person to leave the location, be that the A.D., location manager or a PA, they should put their car keys in the fridge, that way when they go to their car to leave and pat their pockets for the keys they will remember they put them the fridge for a reason and will have to return to the fridge and will remember to turn it back on. This was taught to me by a wise Assistant Director. I love tricks like this.)
POWER
A nightmare for gaffers is lack of power. If you need a shaft of sunlight pouring through a window that is created by lighting, not the sun, and production can’t afford a generator, then you need lots of power. Older buildings should be given special inspections. I’ve shot in apartments that had only two twenty amp circuits which means if you plug in more than four lights, you’re going to start blowing breakers. We ended up borrowing power from an apartment two stories above and just dropped cables out the window to feed our lights. Not ideal, but it worked. Does the place have plenty of outlets? Where are the circuit breakers? You should know where they are so if you blow a breaker you can get at it to reset it. I’ve had hour-long production delays because a fuse box was locked in a closet and nobody could find a janitor to open it. Get to know whoever’s in charge of the keys to all the doors in a building and make them your best friend.
(Another side note: Here’s the Scott Spears lazy man math formula for calculating power needs for lights. Say you want to use three 1000 watts lights (1Ks for short) and a 500 watt light. You take the watts and add them up which makes 3500 watts, then you divide that by 100 (I know it should be 110, but that’s why I call it a lazy man formula) and that will give you the amps you’ll need, which in this case will be 35 amps. Most houses have 20 amp breakers, so you’ll need at two dedicated breakers for your lights. Total watts/100= amps needed. 3500/100=35)
LOGISTICS
Locations bring there own set of logistics, just like people. There are a lot of things you don’t think about as you walk around a cool location lining up shots and thinking how you’ll use the space, but there’s a lot more to a location than that.
Where the heck are the cast, crew and equipment vehicles going to park? A film production takes up a lot of space so there better be parking.
How do you get all the gear to the location? Are there elevators or is the crew going have to drag a ton of equipment up four flights of stairs? Exterior locations have these same concerns. I’ve had to hike about a mile uphill for a shoot with gear on my back and in each hand which ain’t fun, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Do that six times to start and end your day and you’ll think twice about that location.
Don’t forget about changing rooms for cast and a make-up area. Here’s a biggie, are there enough bathrooms? Nothing can get you booted from a location faster than to have 30 people trying to use one bathroom and to have the toilet overflow.
Now you and your stuff are on set, but where do you put people and extra gear when they’re not working? All the grips and cast not on camera need someplace to hang out while shooting is underway.
Do you have a place for the cast and crew to eat? Is there a large space so everybody sit together and eat? That’s a great way to build camaraderie (as long as the food is good, but that’s a whole other topic.) If you don’t feed people on site, are there restaurants nearby. Be careful letting cast and crew loose upon the world because they’ll all come staggering in a few minutes late with the excuse that the waiters were slow or some other problem.
Some locations have special requirements, like no shoes, cover the floors or be out at a certain time. Make sure everybody respects these rules or you may be looking for a new place. If a location throws on too many restrictions off the bat, you may want to look elsewhere because once you’re there, life may get even worse with more rules and complaints about even minor infractions.FINAL THOUGHTS
I’ll close by saying my rule is to try to leave a location better than I found it. Don’t leave a mess because eventually that reputation will catch up to you and you’ll start getting locked out of places.
Scott Spears is an Emmy Award winning Director of Photography with 14 features under his belt. He’s also written several feature screenplays, some of which have been made into movies. You can learn more about him at www.scottspears.net
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Ergo Media Inc. Jewish Video and Films. Over 300 titles including children's videos, documentaries, "how-to" videos, Israeli and Yiddish film classics, educational programs and music/art videos. All films are either in English or subtitled in English.
Ethnoscope Film & Video - I'm looking for excellent"multicultural" videos on traditional music and culture - broadly defined! PO Box 92353 Rochester, NY 14692
Fanlight ProductionsHarriman, NY Distributes films and videos on social issues including health care, mental health, professional ethics, aging and gerontology, the workplace, gender and family issues.
Films Media Group Distributes educational video and multimedia programs for schools, colleges, libraries, the medical community, and other institutions. Owned by media giant PRIMEDIA. They also own the domain "films.com"
Guerilla Films, dictionary definition: "an irregular body of men acting independently". This best describes Guerilla Films except we are also women. Independent UK producer/distributor of indy features.
Illuminare Entertainment Inc Illuminare is looking for music videos and short films.
Impact Video Distributors Extreme Sports Videos
Instructional Video - distributes special interest and "how-to" videos to public libraries. We offer public performance rights for nearly 4,000 titles.
Janson Associates Television & Video - documentaries, children's and special interest programs.
Kultur & White Star Video - opera, classical, comedy, documentary, jazz, ballet, art and many more.
Landmark Media Inc.FALLS CHURCH, VA Wide Variety of Educational Titles
Latin American Video ArchivesIn their own words "As the leading educational video distributor of Latin American and Latino video, our catalogue includes seminal works by award-winning producers that aptly represent the diversity of Latin American and Latino culture."
Moving Images Distribution - social issues, Canadian history, environment, native culture, fine arts.
National Film Network A new company formed by Du Art Film Labs, a long-time friend of indie docs and features, and the Rowan & Littlefield Publishing Group. Look for the filmmaker section of their web site.
NEST Family Entertainment - Duncanville, TX - NEST Entertainment. Christian animated videos.
New Day Films - a cooperative of more than 50 filmmakers offering independent films and videos on social issues.
On With Learning - over 250 video training courses on computer programs.
Penn State Media Sales - specializes in psychology, anthropology, and education videos.
Quality Books Inc. (Not to be confused with another web site with nearly identical web address)
1003 W. Pines Road, Oregon, IL 61061-9680 Phone 815-732-4450 Contact Carolyn Dawson. They specialize in distributing NEW non-fiction books AND videos to libraries. They did a nice job distributing my book Marketing With Digital Video. Currently seeking videos on these topics: Kids, Spanish, and travel. At their web site is also an "Information For Publishers" which explains what they want in a book or video.
Richter Productions - 330 West 42nd Street, New York NY 10036
Richter Productions is a small independent distributor of documentaries encompassing the work of Robert Richter and others. Included are Academy Award nominated documentaries, others cited by the Academy as among the "best documentaries" of the year of their release, duPont Columbia Broadcast Journalism Award winning documentaries
Salt City Home Video - low-budget horror movies and special interest videos.
Schoolhouse Videos & CDs - Wholesome, educational videos and CDs for learning on hundreds of subjects.
Solid Entertainment - They started with eight natural history documentaries produced for The Discovery Channel. Now they include all genres of documentaries: current affairs, historical, military, social, human adventure, science, technology, and wildlife. They specialize is selling documentaries to the worlwide broadcast markets.
Chip Taylor Communications Derry, NH Wide variety of educational titles.
THA Media Video Distributors - full-service video distributor serving the television, educational and home video markets.
ThinkFilm Distributors represents specialized cinema including theatrical documentaries as well as fictional feature films. THINKFilm won its first Best Documentary Academy Award in 2004 with "Born Into Brothels" and also received nominations for "The Story of the Weeping Camel" and "Spellbound." Also distributes "Murderball"
TMW Media Group Educational programs for schools. 2321 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Suite 101 Venice, CA, 90291, 310 577 8581
United Learning (formerly AGC Educational Media) 1560 Sherman Avenue, Suite 100, Evanston, IL 60201 Phone Susan Levenhagen, Director of Product Development 800.323.9084 Featuring a collection of over 2,000 titles for the K-12 curriculum and health education areas. They are an exclusive distributor, employ twenty full-time sales representatives, and have an in-house marketing team.
Vas Entertainment Vas Entertainment,211 Tank Farm Road, San Luis Obispo ., CA 93401. Action Sports Video skateboarding to skiing, baseball to bicycling, yoga to moto, climbing, paddle, fitness.
Victorian Video Productions. Crafts videos.
The Video ProjectWe are the exclusive or primary distributor for most of the programs in our collection, as well as a major distributor for the productions of national environmental organization such as the National Wildlife Federation, Marine Mammal Fund, League of Women Voters, Union of Concerned Scientist and Zero Population Growth, among others.
Women Make Movies
nation's largest distributor of films and videotapes by and about women. The site contains their catalogue of almost 500 films and a comprehensive listing of links on women and film and resources for women filmmakers.
The Really Big Time Distributors
(Even if you're not ready for the big time, there's some great eye-candy here.)
Disney Studios, Hollywood
MGM/UA, MGM / United Artists
Miramax, Hollywood
NBC Universal Hollywood
New Line, Major Hollywood distributor
Paramount, Hollywood
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., including CNN interactive
Twentieth Century Fox, We're looking for your outrageous home videos to air on our specials! Hollywood
Universal Pictures, Hollywood
LINKS
SAGIndie - About SAGIndie - http://www.sagindie.org/about/
Indy Producers Social Media Site, indieProducer.net - http://indieproducer.ning.com/
Planet Indie - http://www.planetindie.com/information/
Jim's Professional Pages I Resume I Commercial Demo
Professional Videographer/Photojournalist I Professional Non-Linear Video & Film EditorMain Page: Video Tips Pages for the New Videographer's and Editors - The Basics -Video Tips #1 - Video Tips #2 - Digital Video Editing Tips
Lighting - Sound - Music - Screen Writing - Entertainment Law - Independent Filmmaking
Do It Yourself Gear - Training Videos - Links And Resources - DVX100OTHER PAGES
Web Design/Graphics I Acting/Stunt Work I Medical Video and Production
Management I Podcasting
E-mail to request a DVD demo with past work.
E-mail us at - jimsawyereditor@gmail.com
NATIONAL & STATE LEVEL AWARDS:
1999 - THE VIDEOGRAPHER AWARDS - Award of Excellence - "Survival", Chester Boot, Videographer/Editor 1999 - TELLY AWARDS - Winner - "Cutting Edge", Today's Headlines, Editor 1999 - TELLY AWARDS - Finalist - "Survival", Chester Boot, Videographer/Editor 1999 - TELLY AWARDS - Finalist - "Image SE MI", Comcast, Writer/Producer/Videographer//Editor/VO 1997 - GOLDEN GOBO AWARDS - Winner, (Best Comcast Spot Nation Wide.), "Survival", Video/ Editor 1995 - TELLY AWARDS - Winner - "It's My Car", Saturn of Southgate, Writer/Producer/Interviewer/Editor 1987 - Michigan Safety Council - 2nd Place - "Bomb Threats & Search Techniques", Mercy, Dir./Editor/Writer 1985 - American Hospital Assoc. - 1st Place -"Silently, Lovingly ....", CO-Producer/Director/Editor/Camera 1972 - ADDY - Amer. Advertising Federation of Florida - 1st Place- Radio,"Great Expectations" Writer/Talent
Videographer Awards
Telly Awards
Comcast Golden GOBO Award
E-mail me at - jimsawyereditor@gmail.com
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